There were some whispers this week that wide receiver Mack Hollins might come off of IR and potentially provide a spark heading into Sunday’s showdown out in Denver after New England advanced last weekend.
On Monday, Head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t rule it out during his press conference, which seemed like a good sign.
“I can’t be certain,” when asked if he anticipated Hollins practicing this week. “Right now, we’re just still working through everything with some of those guys that could be back. Josh Farmer could be eligible to come back as well as Mack, but those aren’t decisions that we’ve made yet.”
But on Wednesday, any hope there was quickly squashed.
Vrabel was asked about the possibility of the window being opened for the veteran being out there in practice as the club kicked off its preparations for this week.
He ended up being pretty blunt with his response.
“That won’t happen today, no,” said Vrabel.
That was later followed up with, “No, I would not anticipate Mack being out there,” when he was asked by another reporter who seemed to miss his answer the first time around.
So, that takes care of that. Unfortunately.
Hollins suffered an apparent abdominal injury in Week 16 and missed practice all week leading up to their Week 17 game against the Jets, with the veteran being ruled “Out” ahead of that match-up.
He was placed on injured reserve back on December 27th, with the hope that he’d potentially be back at some point during the postseason.
For now, that doesn’t appear to be this week.
The former Bills receiver has had a solid year in New England, finishing with 46 receptions for 550 yards and two touchdowns, but more importantly, he’s also been a key player in the run game as a blocker, as well as an asset on special teams.
Wednesday marks the first day of practice ahead of New England’s meeting against the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship, with the Patriots looking to get their first franchise postseason victory in the Mile High City. They’re currently 0-4 all-time, including 0-3 there in the playoffs under former Patriots QB, Tom Brady.
Their previous loss came back in 2015 in an absolutely brutal 20-18 Broncos victory, which saw the Broncos go on to beat Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in the Super Bowl.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
